Succotash Shut-In

Succotash Epi29: Catchin' Up With Craig Shoemaker

Succotash, the Comedy Soundcast Soundcast, was launched in 2011 with the idea of promoting comedy soundcasts in what was then a marketplace still trying to find its way. By featuring short clips of shows being produced by funny folks both known and unknown, we like to feel that we maybe had a little tiny, eeny weeny, itsy bitsy bit to do with helping to ignite the torch of soundcasts across the globe! (But then we've always had a rather high opinion of ourselves...)

Original show host and executive producer Marc Hershon, along with booth announcer Bill Heywatt, engineer/producer Joe Paulino, associate producer Tyson Saner, musical director Scott Carvey, and booth assistant Kenny Durgis have kept the flame alive o'er these many years. In 2018, Hershon abandoned the host chair and anointed Saner to the position, with nary a notice from the legions of listeners. Typical.

The Succotash format is
pretty much out the window this week, because I had a chance to sit
down for an in-depth backstage interview with Craig
Shoemaker when he was at Tommy T’s in San Francisco recently.
So that takes up a bunch of show, only leaving time for a couple of
podcast clips and a couple of other goodies. Plus Craig is not this
episode's only interview. More on that in a paragraph or
two.

Regarding "Shoe", if you're not
familiar with him, where the hell have you been? The guy's been
around for about three decades, doing standup, acting, writing,
radio...the list of stuff he's done goes on and on. Here are a few
particulars: He caught fire for years as his deep-voiced character
called The Lovemaster, but that is backed up by solid time served
as the consummate journeyman comic. He's shot comedy specials for
TV (including his most recent, Daditude), starred in films
(such as Should Have Been Romeo) and even has written a
couple of children's books (such as What You Have Now, Your
Daddy Had Then.)

He still does club dates and is
the host of Laugh It Off, a live two-hour video
webcast/podcast that "airs" every Monday from noon until 2 PM. I
caught up with him during his recent stint in the Bay Area and it
was a great time that had been put off way too long. (Craig and I
hit Los Angeles about the same time in the late 80s and we ended up
hanging out a bit and even writing material together for a
while.)

But before we corner Craig in
the green room, I kick off the show with a short chat with
friend-of-the-show Phil Leirness! He, of podcasting's
Thje Chillpak Hollywood Hour, along with co-host Dean
Haglund have kicked off a Kickstarter campaign to raise money
for a new documentary project. Hieroglyph of
The Human Soul features the art, philosophy and insights of
actor/artist/ philosopher Leigh McCloskey. While it's not a
comedic subject, I figure it's worthwhile to spare a little webtime
for a guy who believes so passionate about the positive aspects of
the human spirit. You can click the link above or in the side
column of the SuccotashShow.com website to get in on this
movie-making opportunity.

Larry Miller is on the
mend from the accident he had MONTHS ago. He’s still not back up to
100%, which is why they are rerunning episodes of This Week With
Larry Miller over on the ACE Broadcasting network. But Larry
speaks! That’s right. This week, there is a short message from him
at the top of the show. So I grabbed it for you here.

I’ve featured these guys
before, but it’s been a while, so thanks for the clip, guys! The
S&M Rants Podcast is a weekly humor podcast featuring co-hosts
Shane Birley and Monica Hamburg. Want to hear bad
erotica, painful Craigslist ads or learn about Chewbacca sex
fantasies? Join them - and their guest judges - for the deranged
goodness.

We do have a classic
Henderson's Pants spot this epi. Our Burst O' Durst segment
is NOT around this week, as political comic Will Durst is on
a sabbatical to write a new e-book. He should be back next
episode.

You can now rate
Succotash on Stitcher Smart Radio. It's just a simple Thumbs
Up (or Thumbs Down) and all you have to do is click over to
our listing on
their site. You can also give us stars and dash off a quick
review over on iTunes, which really helps us to gain visibility in
the sea of over 10,000 podcasts that are out there these
day.

That's about it, but isn't it
enough? With the two interviews and the clips we have, the show
nets out at about one hour and twenty minutes. So I hope you
brought enough appetite for all of it, and that you have room left
to pass the Succotash.